


Counting Stars

by orphan_account



Category: The Last Hours Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Blackdale, Fairondale - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, London, Multi, OT3, Pre-OT3, Stargazing, actually not quite fairthorndale yet but we see the hints there, fairthorndale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:14:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24432664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Matthew and Jesse comfort Lucie after a terrifying nightmare, and Matthew uncovers some... interesting feelings.
Relationships: Jesse Blackthorn/Lucie Herondale, Jesse Blackthorn/Matthew Fairchild, Jesse Blackthorn/Matthew Fairchild/Lucie Herondale, Matthew Fairchild/Lucie Herondale
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Counting Stars

Lucie snuck out of the Institute that night. Matthew found her shaking on the roof, more upset than he’d seen her in weeks.

Something in him tightened. He’d been so glad to see his Lucie relaxed lately. They had risen from a terrible time not unscathed, but certainly changed. That time of their lives that had been full of constant extremes,bouncing between agony and exhilaration, sorrow and joy. 

It’d been a long time since he’d felt any peace. Though he tried not to, Matthew near-panicked every time something bad might have happened, fearing all the love and security he’d started to build would vanish at the drop of a hat. 

After everything they’d gone through, it became his habit to automatically assume the worst. He took a deep breath to ground himself, then rushed over to Lucie’s side, not touching her but reaching out a hand in case she wanted to take it. 

She turned into his chest, trembling, and Matthew put his arms around Lucie, holding her as close as he could. She began sobbing, and it took all Matthew’s strength not to cry with her. He’d always  _ felt  _ so intensely, and right now he knew Lucie’s pain like it was his own. He closed his eyes tightly and pressed his head to her hair, wishing he could mend her heartache. 

Breathing hard, Matthew clutched Lucie tighter, feeling her sobs intensify. Opening his eyes, he saw Jesse Blackthorn, who’d just emerged onto the roof with them. They exchanged a worried look, and Matthew felt something unspoken pass between them- like the small moments he thought he’d kept imagining in the past few weeks. 

Matthew exhaled slowly, beckoning Jesse to come forward. Though the complicated mess of his relationships with Lucie and Jesse wasn’t getting any clearer, he knew the other boy’s presence would help. They were at least united in concern for Lucie. 

Jesse stepped forward and placed a gentle hand on the small of her back. Lucie sniffled, and pulled away from Matthew a little, wiping at her tears.

Hesitantly, Jesse touched her face, helping her brush them away. Matthew felt a pang go through him- not jealousy, he was surprised to find out, but more like heartache. Grief, and a longing he couldn’t place.

Lucie sat down, slightly steadier. At least she didn’t look like she was about to crumble anymore.

Matthew knelt down right next to her, not wanting to let go just yet. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and Matthew tried to breathe. She would tell him what was wrong, he was sure of it. He just needed to wait. 

Jesse seemed like he felt out of place. He tried to slip into the shadows, retreating back into the Institute, but something inside Matthew made him hold onto Jesse’s sleeve. 

He looked at him, alarmed. Matthew only said, “Stay.”

Jesse stayed, albeit with uncertainty. He sat down on the other side of Lucie, who took his hand in both of hers. Something about the gesture felt odd and yet natural to Matthew. 

Eventually, Lucie said, “I’m scared.”

There it was. 

“Scared of what?”   


“Just… do you ever worry? That something worse will happen?” Lucie said into the dark.

“Darling, we can take whatever the world throws at us. Don’t you worry,” said Matthew, suddenly unsure who his words were directed at, “I’ll keep you safe.

Lucie shook her head. “It’s not me I’m frightened for,” she said. “It’s you.” 

Now Matthew was definitely confused. He couldn’t help it; he glanced at Jesse, surprised and a little shy to find that the other boy was already looking at him. 

As if she sensed the silent question, Lucie said, “Both of you.”

When no one said anything, she plowed on. “If anything happened to either of you” she shuddered, “I don’t think- I don’t think I could-” Here, she broke down again, her head in her hands. Jesse murmured words of reassurance in her ear while Matthew stared.

He hadn’t known Jesse meant that much to Lucie. Angel, he hadn’t even known he  _ himself  _ meant that much to Lucie. 

Matthew cleared his throat. “Luce? Look up,” he said, pointing to a star. She looked at it, then at him. 

He went on. “We can only see so many stars in London’s sky. A little light in masses of darkness. But eventually, no matter the smog and clouds, the sun is visible.”

Jesse smiled. To Matthew’s surprise, he said, “All darkness ends. The sun always rises. And there will always be light to propel us forward, even when we least expect it,” finishing his thoughts.

Matthew was speechless. He settled for giving Jesse a long, considering look, and leaned back against Lucie.

They sat there a few minutes more, counting the stars in the dead of the night, until Lucie, exhausted, said she was going to bed and thanked them for their comfort. 

Matthew and Jesse lingered on the roof a little longer. Matthew couldn’t shake the feeling there was something he wanted to say, but he searched himself and found muddled emotion rather than words. Instead of saying anything, he bid Jesse good night, and went to bed with his heart racing. 

Maybe he’d figure it out tomorrow. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this, please let me know what you thought! Also, does a hug on the rooftop of the London Institute sound familiar? Hmm... cOuLd I bE using a TDA parallel? you decide, my dears. 
> 
> If you have a prompt/idea/request for a TSC fic, feel free to send it to my tumblr @fairchild-squad :D


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